Officers have recommended that Ribble Valley Borough Council keep its current approach to replacement hackney carriages. A report for the Licensing Committee on Tuesday 3 November 2026 records that every reply to a trade consultation opposed requiring those replacements to be fully wheelchair accessible.
The agenda listed the report for decision at 6.30pm in the council chamber. The recommendation is that the committee take no action to amend the policy. No decision notice was published on the meeting page.
The replies
Consultation documents went to all hackney carriage licence holders on 15 September 2026, with responses sought by 17 October 2026. There were 40 responses from the 59 holders of hackney carriage driver licences. One response was from a firm which holds five hackney carriage vehicle licences. The overall response rate is given as slightly below 75%.
Every response opposed the proposal that replacement hackney carriages should be wheelchair accessible. The much higher cost of replacing a vehicle with a wheelchair accessible one was mentioned in all of them, and a number of drivers stressed the very narrow margins at which they operate. Responses on behalf of 27 drivers pointed out that there was no evidence of demand for more wheelchair accessible vehicles to justify the outlay. Responses on behalf of, or by, 30 drivers drew attention to the possible consequence that fewer hackney carriage licences would be renewed.
How the question reached the committee
On 8 September 2026 the committee amended the policy to remove the limit on numbers, with discretion to issue further hackney carriage licences for vehicles which are fully wheelchair accessible. The Head of Legal and Democratic Services was authorised to consult the trade on whether any replacement for an existing licensed hackney carriage should have to be fully wheelchair accessible.
Of the 53 plates which had been issued, four vehicles were wheelchair accessible and eight had ELAP seats. The remaining 39 had no specific provision for passengers with disabilities. The council's hackney carriage information describes ELAP seats as rotating seats which assist a person getting into and out of the vehicle. The consultation behind the September decision ran from 3 July to 14 August 2026. Two responses were received, and neither raised a substantive comment.
For equality, the report argues there could be some impact on disabled service users, because there would not be an ongoing increase in wheelchair accessible hackney carriages. Any impact is treated as mitigated by the September decision that all new hackney carriages must be fully wheelchair accessible, with no cap on the number of such vehicles, and there is no evidence of demand for more of that provision from disabled service users.
Ranks, fuel and other work
Some of the responses raised other issues. Hackney carriage drivers were concerned about when new ranks will be introduced. All the legal steps have been taken, and signs and road markings are being ordered. The cost of fuel was highlighted. There had been consultation on fuel earlier in the year, and no drivers had requested a fare increase to reflect the rise. Given how long fuel prices have stayed high, this may require further consideration and consultation.
A meeting for members and the trade was requested. It is intended to hold that meeting in the coming weeks. A meeting had been considered before, and was deferred so that extensive government proposals could be clarified. Those proposals are still awaited.
Local drivers expressed concern about competition from out-of-borough vehicles, and about Uber and application-based journeys. The report notes the concern, and records that this should not directly affect the use of hackney carriages in the borough.